Instructional Coaching

Instructional Coaching: Seeding District-Wide Innovation

Instructional coaching can be an amazing asset when implemented in a way that considers all those that will be involved and affected, as well as using the five phases of coaching.  In the attached video, you will watch how a school in Virginia has effectively implemented instructional coaching throughout Albemarle County.  The teachers, coaches, and administration share why they feel the coaching has been so beneficial in their district.  

First you hear from a 2nd grade teacher, Katie, who is working first hand with her instructional coach, Trish.  Katie mentions that her coach helps her with lesson planning but more importantly helps her know why she is going to teach a lesson in a certain way.  Administration speaks to the coaches being "the linchpin in the work" that happens throughout the district. They help connect teachers from one school to another which allows for innovative teaching across schools.  They do this by having instructional coaches go to different schools sharing lessons and technology ideas with others.  "Every building has at least three coaches. Every coach has at least 3 schools."

Trish, the instructional coach in the video says , "It always comes back to the teacher getting to tell you what they need.  So, that's where I always begin."  You can hear the genuine excitement and appreciation from Katie as well.  Then what really works is the fact that Trish is able to go to the other teachers and share what worked and then can tweak the things that didn't go so well.

When thinking about the five phases of coaching (Alaniz & Wilson, 2015, p. 39), Albemarle County Schools have clearly established the need for instructional coaching, partnerships have been created and are linked throughout the district, project based learning is at the forefront, there was time to assess progress as the teacher and coach worked together, as well as time for them to reflect on the integration. Throughout the video, you can tell that all members of this district clearly believe in the system of instructional coaching.  They have invested time and resources to ensure teachers in the district are getting what they want and need in order to make their classrooms work for the best of the students.  In the end, the statistics show that their graduation rate has increased, the drop out rate has decreased, and they are outperforming their state in reading, math, and science for the past 10 years.  They are indeed doing things right and are a model for others to learn from.

Resources:

Alaniz, K., & Wilson, D.  (2015).  Naturalizing digital immigrants:  The power of collegial coaching for technology integration.  Lanham, Maryland:  Rowman & Littlefield.  

Edutopia.  (2015, Sept. 18).  Instructional coaching:  Seeding district-wide innovation. Retrieved Nov. 18, 2018, from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0IrZ5jrvCo